A year ago I was living in Washington, D.C. and hating the horrible heat and humidity. I see that it is even more horrible this year than last. I am sympathetic for those RBC readers who are suffering in our nation’s capital, so let me relay the image that kept me going when I was suffering along with you:
I envision an overweight, 50ish Congressman or lobbyist in a dark wool suit climbing the Capitol steps and saying
“There is no such thing as climate change!” [PANT]
“The climate is NOT changing!” [GASP]
“Climate change is a hoax!” [COLLAPSE FROM HEAT STROKE].
Mordacity rains supreme at the RBC right now. I am loving every second of it!
*reigns- not the time to make a mistake!
Now all we have to do is hope a cold winter doesn’t come and prove climate change was a hoax all along.
Well I’m just glad to see folks use the term ‘climate change’ instead of ‘gl*b*l w*rming’.
Weather and climate ain’t the same thing! Please don’t use the same disingenuous arguments as deniers.
I’m in DC right now and I ‘m seeing a lot of seersucker. Just saying.
Tim, why is the the term “climate change” preferable to “global warming”? The former is less precise because it doesn’t say how the climate is changing. I just got an e-mail from the Union of Concerned Scientists (whoever they are), saying, “Many people don’t realize it, but global warming is already affecting our lives and it’s causing trouble in surprising places—like in North Carolina where climate change has caused poison ivy to become more potent.” Thus, they use “global warming” and “climate change” interchangeably. Of course, they also use “like” for “such as,” so I don’t consider them an authority on English usage.
Global warming, for anyone who has taken the time to study the issue, is GLOBAL warming. An average.
As winds, currents, and humidity all get changed by the warmer conditions, climate in any given area will change. Under the old system Vancouver, BC has the occasional palm tree whereas on the east coast of North America they do not appear until many hundreds of miles south of where Vancouver is. Only some kinds of fact resistant conservatives would treat using the term “climate change” as a backing off of the argument the globe is warming. But “climate change” has the advantage of being immediately perceivable whereas someone has to know more science than most or all conservative spokespeople to understand the globe may be warming while they are shoveling unaccustomed snow.
Henry, you’re right ‘global warming’ is technically more accurate. If the discussions were only taking place amongst the more technically savvy, then there would be no problem. But they don’t. It’s kind of a cognitive trick, but I think using ‘climate change’ will help head off stupid statements like, “Global warming, my ass! It’s freezing out!”, and can help cement the understanding that climate change means volatile weather among other things.
You don’t necessarily need to know what direction the climate moving it to appreciate the fact that it’s a Bad Thing. As best as we can tell, life as we know it needs a fairly stable global climate to survive — even if Mr. Kahn is willing to bet against that.
During the cold winter, didn’t Senator Imhofe from Oilklahoma and his family build an igloo on Capitol Hill with a sign “Al Gore’s New Home”?
Recently, Imhofe had to cry off a climate denial conference in a heat wave because he was “indisposed”.
Yeah, yeah, I know weather ain’t climate, but that guy in the suit must be Imhofe.
The argument for saying “climate change” is that more happens than mere warming: increased extremes, changes in rainfall patterns, etc.
The argument for saying “global warming” is that people are afraid of “global warming” but not of “climate change.”
“Tim, why is the the term “climate change” preferable to “global warming”? The former is less precise because it doesn’t say how the climate is changing.”
That’s why: ‘Cause it’s unfalsifiable.
Every winter, we get lectures on the difference between weather and climate. Every summer, it’s, “My God, it’s hot! See! See!”. It’s summer, so we get the “My God!”.
D.C. has the worst of both worlds.
Hot as hell in the summer. Cold as a witch’s titty in the winter.
Brett Bellmore says:
“That’s why: ‘Cause it’s unfalsifiable.”
Stop lying. You know full well what the falsifiable conditions would be.